Chapter 202: Speed-Running the Tower
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 202: Speed-Running the Tower
The next day.
Ivy opened her door as usual.
"Ugh... who is it? Knocking like that..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a towering figure appeared before her.
"Huh? Kairos? Or is it the Dean...?"
She looked up.
It was a burly man she had never met before.
He was clad entirely in black, his face obscured.
"Wait, who are you?"
Just as she instinctively reached for her Fate Cards, two familiar figures popped out from behind the man’s shoulders.
"Sister Ivy, we came to see you!"
"Look! This is our new lackey. His name is Julius! Pretty imposing, right?"
Seeing the Two Little Ones, Ivy nodded blankly.
"He... he certainly is imposing..."
As she spoke, she retreated into her room and found a place to sit.
"So, what brings you here? And who is this person you brought along?"
In response to Ivy’s question, the Two Little Ones hopped down from Julius.
"Well, it’s a long story."
"Basically, Sister Xiaobai recommended him to join the tournament with us! Sister Ivy, do you think you could give him a chance?"
Hearing their request, Ivy looked at Julius, feeling a bit dazed.
"He... he wants to participate?"
"Yup! He just needs to be registered as a student under your name, Sister Ivy!"
"By the way, Julius is only seventeen this year. He’s the same age as Brother Kairos and the others!"
...
The Dean’s Office.
"This... seventeen years old?"
Xavier stared stiffly at Julius.
Ivy stood to the side, scratching her head awkwardly.
"That’s right, Dean. I just tested him with the Tree Ring Stone. He really is only seventeen; he just had a birthday a few months ago."
Hearing Ivy’s explanation, Xavier scrutinized Julius once more.
"I heard you are a friend of that lady, Bai?"
Julius nodded.
"Something like that."
Xavier paced around Julius, inspecting him from every angle.
"You say you want to participate in the Alliance Tournament?"
"Yes."
"Why? What’s your reason?"
Faced with Xavier’s inquiry, Julius looked down at him.
"Does there need to be a reason?"
Upon hearing this answer, Xavier immediately grabbed Julius’s hand.
"Excellent! We need students exactly like you to compete!"
Ivy chimed in from the side. "Dean! I haven't said I’d take him in yet! Since when did he become our student?"
Xavier held up a hand to stop her.
"No need to worry yourself. From this moment on, he is my personal disciple!"
With that, he looked at Julius.
"If you have no objections, come with me to the High Tower for training right now. I’ll teach you a few sets of exclusive sword techniques. It’ll also give that boy Kairos a sparring partner."
Julius gave a slight nod to Xavier’s request.
"Whatever. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now."
Having said his piece, he released Xavier’s hand, hoisted the Two Little Ones onto his shoulders, and walked out of the office.
Once he was gone, Xavier shook his numbed hand and wiped away cold sweat.
"Ivy, you really bring me quite the surprise every time you visit."
"Uh... Dean, what do you mean by that?"
Xavier walked to the window. Bathed in the diffused backlight, he looked at Ivy with a grave expression.
"Let’s put it this way... that big guy... I can’t beat him."
...
Outside.
The Two Little Ones sat on Julius’s shoulders, excitedly pointing at their surroundings.
"Over there, over there! Go that way!"
"No, we should go that way!"
Following the directions of the Two Little Ones, Julius walked through various parts of Dome Academy.
Along the way, many students stopped to steal glances at the tall, imposing Julius.
Quite a few gazes also fell upon the Two Little Ones.
However, the moment Julius cast a glance back, those people immediately shrunk away.
After walking for some time, Julius suddenly came to a halt.
"Hmm? What’s wrong, Big Charcoal?"
"Are we annoying you?"
Julius shook his head at their questions.
"No, it’s not that."
He turned to look at a student behind him.
"Is there something you need?"
Caught off guard by Julius’s question, the student stammered in a panic.
"No, no! I just..."
Seeing the other person’s nervous, stuttering state, Julius scanned the area.
Near a pillar, several people were huddled together, watching the scene with the eyes of those looking for entertainment.
Upon noticing Julius’s gaze, they quickly turned away to avoid eye contact.
Seeing this, Julius looked down and asked, "Did they force you to come over?"
"No, no, no! It has nothing to do with them! It was just me, I..."
Julius shook his head.
"Fine, I understand."
He placed a hand on the student’s head.
In the next second, a faint trace of black aura flowed into the student’s body.
"You can choose whether or not to use this power. It all depends on your resolve. Just make sure you are prepared to bear the consequences."
With that, Julius left the spot and walked straight ahead.
...
After walking for a while.
Julius stopped in front of the Dome Tower.
"Eh? Are we back here again?"
"Are we really going to listen to that Dean and train here?"
Julius nodded at the Two Little Ones' questions.
"Something like that. But it won't be the Dean’s training. To be precise, I’m not interested in his techniques."
He looked up at the structure.
"I want to challenge this tower and see if I can make it to the top floor in one go."
The Two Little Ones thought about it for a moment.
"Then, are we getting in your way by sitting on your shoulders?"
"Should we get down first?"
Julius shook his head. "No need."
He raised his black greatsword with one hand and stepped into the trial floor of the Dome Tower.
As soon as he entered, he saw a student collapsed on the ground.
"What the hell... are the trial monsters on the first floor always this insane? They’re literally camping the entrance. What are we supposed to do?"
Another student crawled over to his side.
"I heard it’s because Kairos and Nimo were too strong. They speed-ran three hundred floors, which triggered the tower’s balance mechanism, causing the overall strength of the monsters to spike."
"Heh... well, they certainly are beasts. With those two big shots in Dome Academy, I can rest easy. I just don't know what to do about my five academic credits if I can't clear the tower."
As he spoke, the student looked up at Julius.
"Huh? I haven't seen this guy before. Is it his first time climbing? Looks like a Warrior."
Seeing Julius approach, the student shouted, "Hey, brother! The difficulty in the tower is a bit high lately. Maybe you should come back later?"
Julius walked past him calmly, ignoring the warning.
"Thanks for the tip, but it won't be necessary."
He lightly lifted the black greatsword and cleaved an attacking trial monster in two with a single stroke.
His movements were steady and fluid; even the Two Little Ones on his shoulders didn't feel a single bump.
"Nice one, Big Charcoal! Let’s keep charging!"
"Let's try to catch up to Brother Kairos and the others within half an hour!"
In response to their request, Julius took a step back.
"Alright."
In the next instant, he lunged forward, wiping out a swarm of monsters with a single sweep of his sword.
Seeing Julius slaughter an entire floor of monsters so effortlessly—while keeping the Two Little Ones perfectly balanced on his shoulders—the student from before instantly lost his composure.
"Well, that’s it. I can forget about climbing the tower again this semester."